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As always, there be adult language and adult joke ahead. You have been warned.

Last time on the Doom Retrospective, our hero was facing off against a powerless Fantastic Four and a superhero that can’t even see! Nothing can stop Doom now! Nothing! Before we get to his final victory, let’s take a look at the scorecard.

Let’s hop right into it. After last month’s barnburner of an ending, the Fantastic Four desperately race to the Baxter Building, a building now firmly under the control of Doom! All the Mighty Marvelites must have been beside themselves waiting a full month for FF # 40 to come out, dreading that the series would be over complete with the final panel showing Doom parading the desecrated corpses of Johnny, Ben, and Richards through the streets of New York, while Sue came to grips with the new man in her life. Secretly wanting it oh so badly. I digress.

The issue opens with Doom gloating over his impending victory. Instead of eliminating them quickly, he decides to play with his food. Excellent, Victor. Make them suffer.

Doom is not above ruining the team’s rep before killing them. Years from now, that woman will tell her grandchildren that a drone almost hit her in the face. That man will regale his friends with the tale of how Reed Richards was invading the privacy of innocent citizens well before September 11. It’s all your fault, Richards.

Doom discovering Reed alive has given him new life. He decides that once Reed is dead, he’ll take over the world. Reed really brings out the best in Victor. Daredevil, using his accursed blindness powers, discovers the drone and takes it out in short order.

Wait, what? With a gun? Hidden in his billy club? So much for the criminal justice system. Daredevil is going to let God sort ’em out. The Punisher is still over a decade away and here is a blind man packing fucking heat. Excelsior!

After gunning down an unarmed drone in the middle of the street, Daredevil runs off to distract Doom, calling the Lord of Latveria “Doomsie.” You will die for your impertience, Daredevil. Reed meets up with Johnny and Sue in a purloined taxi. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

At Herochat, there is a meme that Thing will always do things like steal a taxi to expedite his escapes from the Hulk. It seems like the whole team is into it, however. The FF are nothing but a cowardly bunch of criminals. Reed is in a real hurry to get to something called “The Stimulator.” I think I can see Sue blushing ever so slightly. Looks like that machine has more than one use, wink wink.

They reach the building and forge ahead, immediately running into a trap designed by Reed himself. “Mr. Fantastic” carries Sue through the electrical blasts and directs Johnny through it at the same time. Torch, that sniveling sycophant, claims there will never be another guy like Reed. Richards’s minutes are numbered, insect.

Meanwhile, Daredevil has sneaked up on Doom. Is our hero caught unawares?

Of course not! Doom left you just “enough rope,” cretin. Another Victor zinger. Not quite up there with the sun giving them a warm reception, but good enough for the likes of Daredevil. Doom quickly turns the tables, using a model rocket ship that Reed built to chase DD around the room. The accursed hero dodges at every turn. Doom deduces he is using far more than just sight, but what could it be? Once again, Doom shows his superiority over Richards. Here they are side-by-side.

Doom at least works out that there is something more than vision going on here, while Reed is more like “Dur hur!” and staring at Daredevil’s tight vigilante ass. I hate you, Reed Richards. Fugly Ben Grimm shows up and now the whole accursed party is here. Reed keeps babbling about the “stimulator.” Is he going to give them their powers back or are we going to watch Reed jack it for 5 panels?

Back in the control room, Doom flings machinery around and Daredevil shows that his billy club has more powers than fucking Mjolnir.

Green Lantern Spider-man and this god damned Odin-blessed billy club. No wonder Doom can’t beat these guys! Daredevil is like a more competent version of Thunderstrike. And for those that don’t know who that is, well, let’s just say he was a symptom of what was wrong in the 90’s and we are all glad he’s dead.

As the Four race to retrieve Reed’s sex toy, Daredevil does the unthinkable and lays his hands on the personage of Doom!

You are in trouble now, simpleton! Doom shall crush you like the bug you are. Daredevil is being trounced so thoroughly that his similes stop making sense. Held by a bulldozer?!? Just as Doom is about end Daredevil, in bust the powerless Fantastic Four.

How does that feel, Thing? You want to die? You want Doom to end it all for you? How does it feel that Richards treats you as little more than fodder? He was willing to see you die so he could get his hands on his sweet “stimulator.” And of course he uses it on himself first. What a dick. He could have shot Ben first but Reed wants Doom to Gorilla Press Thing Ultimate Warrior style. Reed turns the gun on Johnny next, still no Ben. Suck it, Thing. Three of the four have their powers back? Does Doom panic?

Of course not! This victory will be so much the sweeter! Swatting Torch away like a fly, Doom triggers the in-floor refrigeration unit, freezing the team in place, including the accursed Daredevil. Unfortunately, in one last bullshit heroic moment, Reed stretches and releases a steam vent, freeing the heroes. Bah! No matter. Only delaying the inevitable.

Reed decides that the full might of the Fantastic Four is required to beat Doom. He turns his gun on Ben.

Oh, that is rich. I love it. Ben doesn’t want to be the Thing and Reed does not give two flying fucks. Oop. Too late. Already pulled the trigger, you ugly gargoyle. Welcome back to being a fucking monster. Reed might as well have kicked him in the nuts and spit in his face while he was at it. Who’s the villain here?

While Reed is fucking Thing over, Doom is rigging the building to blow, killing everyone for miles around to boot. An enraged Thing, knowing he is impotent to attack his true enemy, decides to take on Doom instead. We’ve seen this play out before, moron. Doom is going to whip your ass, Thing.

Look at Thing hurt his little hand. Why do you do this to yourself, Thing? Just roll over and die. Thing is too stupid to quit. He comes at Doom again. But Doom is master of all! His armor is supreme! He uses an “instant hypnotism impulser” in his gauntlet, which tips Thing off balance. Doctor Doom then issues a royal beatdown on Thing, destroying him with words as well.

I think Doom should stop the fight and call a hotline. Thing obviously needs help. In an ultimate sign of mercy, Doom decides he will help put this ugly pile of shit out of his misery. Using “intensified molecules,” he blasts pebbles that turn into boulders, pummeling Thing. The grotesque monster won’t give up though, busting out of those boulders.

Look at that. He agrees with me completely. You’re a mental trainwreck, Thing. The brute miraculously muscles through Doom’s defenses and again lays his misbegotten mitts on the Lord of Latveria! Let’s watch Doom humble him again. This shit never gets old.

Wait, what? This must be some sort of mistake. Let me look at that again.’

Huh. It’s still the same.

What the fuck?!?! No, no, no. Not the fucking Thing! Even Torch would be better. Not Thing! Bah, Doom doesn’t need gadgets to snap victory from the jaws of defeat. He still has more than enough power to destroy you all! This is just the darkest moment before the shining dawn of Doom’s triumph!

Doom. Slinking off. Defeated. Humbled. Humiliated. FUCK. What the fuck is going on here? Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, you fucking hacks. You smear this shit on the page and call it a comicbook? Suck it. All of you can suck it. The book ends with Thing quitting the team because he’s a fucked up ugly monster, and nobody cares. I hope you die, Thing! I hope you fucking die next issue.

I’m done. My ticker can’t take this any longer. That’s not even how diplomatic immunity works!

Next: Fuck this shit.

As usual, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below. You can also send your comments to thenonicheblog@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at John_S20. If you really want to stalk me, you can find me posting fairly regularly at Herochat.com, known for its mature and frank discussions about comicbooks.

As the readers coming to the site grow incrementally, I think it would be best if I gave a warning that there be adult language and adult humor in the Doom Retrospective. Ye have been warned.

When last we left out hero, brave Doctor Doom had finally defeated the accursed Richards, overpowering him with pure brain power and banishing him from existence forever!! I will not go into the meaningless details of how that ended up not being true. Just know that chicanery and the accursed Stan Lee and Jack Kirby played important roles in this unjust and tyrannical reversal of fortune. Let’s go to the scorecard.

Record vs Fantastic Four: 1-6 (It counts. Fuck you, Richards, Lee, Kirby. Eventually, Doom will win for real! So swears Doom! Check out Major Spoilers, by the way, great site.)

With Doom believing himself triumphant, he was given a rest, going on hiatus for a full 10 months, the longest he had ever gone without an appearance. With the Marvel Universe really hitting its stride and new heroes and villains coming into their own, the days of Doom heroically carrying the banner of super-villainy were at an end. But you can’t keep Marvel’s number one stunner out of the funny pages for long, and so in Fantastic Four #39 (June 1965), Doom makes his triumphant return.

Our story opens with the Fantastic Four fucked up from an encounter with the Frightful Four! This is a story I don’t care about (except for Sandman. Go Sandman!) and won’t read, so let’s continue. It appears the team took a nuclear explosion, shielded only by a Sue Storm force field. After drifting out in the ocean for 24 hours, they are rescued. Caught up? Good. Shit, Reed wants to have a dream and recap the last issue for you. Fine, Reed, you selfish asshole.

Now are you caught up? Reed’s analytical mind causes even his unconscious mutterings to come out as splendid tales of derring-do. What a damned showoff. By the way, Thing was turned back into Ben Grimm by the explosion and nobody cares. Shame he survived.

At breakfast the next morning, the Four are greeted with an inconvenient truth.

They’ve lost their powers! And look at Reed sulk. He doesn’t care that he still retains his intellect, he’s more upset that he lost the ability to grow his penis to Doom-like proportions. Sue seems to be handling it pretty well. When they return home, Reed is trying to give them their powers back and “cure” Thing by returning him to his rightful status as a boil on the ass of humanity. We are also treated to an experimental page by Kirby.

Look at those special effects. Fuck Avatar. This is the real deal. And look at Thing, the poor bastard actually wants to be a monstrosity again. Better to be a walking gargoyle who will die alone than to be an anonymous loser who will die alone, eh, Benji?

Reed is stumped, so he decides to mimic the Four’s powers through science. He makes Johnny a suit that can allow him to “flame on,” but he can’t fly as well as he used to.

And Thing?

Useless, as usual. I could read a comic filled with nothing but Thing screwing up and Reed berating him for it. It must be hard to be surrounded by fellows that are barely legally competent. Trust me, Doom understands. I kind of like dick Reed. What about Sue?

Whoa, there, Reed. Settle down. I think there is some pent-up sexual frustration going on there. You’re not thinking clearly. I’m disappointed he didn’t berate Sue for claiming an invisible woman was a “power of nature.” How dare you question me, woman? First, invisible airheads aren’t a part of nature. They are abominations. You’re an abomination, Susan. And second, I’m Reed Richards and I can do anything (except beat Doom in a fair fight.) We leave the Four in shambles and turn to a familiar scene in Latveria. Doom is berating his servants and yelling at the magician that is trying to entertain him. Bah! Your cheap parlor tricks do not impress Doom, a man who has dabbled in dark arts far beyond what your mortal ass is capable of understanding. The magician, rightly fearing for his life, tries to impress Doom with hypnotism.

Doom is so angry, the very metal of his mask quivers and changes with his expression. I fucking hate that. Iron masks can’t move like that. That’s amateur hour, Kirby. Doom rightly blows a gasket, slaps around the hired help, and immediately jets off to New York. That was strangely satisfying, even with the stupid mask moving. Some two-bit magician just signed Reed Richards’ death warrant.

We return to the Fantastic Four and find their lawyer walking into their warehouse. Their lawyer, of course, is Matt Murdock, Daredevil, the Invalid without Fear! It warms my heart to see someone who probably should have been euthanized years ago after being deformed with radioactive gunk lead a more productive life than Ben Grimm. Suck it, Thing. So why has Reed called the team attorney? To prepare for the worst.

Daredevil is so taken aback, he develops split personality and starts talking to himself. This is some serious shit, Reed. With two sentences, you have completely destroyed Matt Murdock’s psyche! Before Reed can investigate just how badly Matt’s brain is damaged, someone attacks the base!

While the FF’s new Reed-invented powers fail, because Reed is not Doom, Daredevil springs into action, assisting the team. “Mister Fantastic” is simply stumped by this turn of events.

My blind lawyer was here and now you’re here, Daredevil. And you can see in the dark and you’re using Matt Murdock’s cane. I don’t know who you could possibly be, Mister, but I’m glad you just randomly popped by. Eat a dick, Reed. I can’t believe Doom keeps losing to you. Speaking of which, where is Doom? And who is piloting that mysterious ship?

Yes, Richards, while you are flummoxed by the man behind the Daredevil mask (which doesn’t even have eyeholes!), Doom is building ships beyond anything you have ever seen! Doom, the consummate showman, takes this whole thing up a notch.

Look at that. That is the sweetest damn floating sign. Doom must have worked hours on that. Eat it, Richards. You are outpowered, outperformed, and straight up outclassed by Doom. Reed poops himself because the team is powerless, but the Cripple without Fright swears he will fight against Doom with Matt Murdock’s cane. I’m actually feeling pretty good about a Doom victory at this point.

Not only has Doom built a space-age ship, he has remotely taken control of all of Richards’ accursed vehicles housed in the Baxter Building. First, it’s the Fantasti-car. The four stand around helpless and Daredevil busts his ass to make sure they don’t die. I am amazed at what the handicapped are truly capable of doing. Daredevil leads them back into the warehouse where they are hiding from Doom, who is stymied?

Yes, Victor, when something is hidden from you, you cannot see it. Are we sure this isn’t a Doombot? My fears are assuaged when he calls Reed’s greatest inventions children’s toys. That’s the real Doom all right. Doom unleashes the vortex machine and launches a tornado at the hapless heroes.

Nice work, Daredevil. I can feel the building falling apart, but I can’t figure out how! If only this tornado level wind and intense air pressure crushing my super sensitive eardrums would die down so I could figure it out! Despite his brain still being addled from Reed’s bombshell earlier, DD leads them through the warehouse, escaping certain death. The five decide to split up. Good plan, powerless people and blind guy.

Reed and DD head to a construction site while the others fan out. Reed techno-babbles his way to defeating the vortex.

Who knew that a spinning column of air had such a unique chemical makeup that only the right combination of chemicals stored in a construction site could…you know what, I’m done defending this shit. Fuck you, Reed.

We cut back to Doom, who is mighty confused as to why the FF keep running instead of using their superpowers to fight back. Curiouser and curiouser. Watch, Richards. Watch a first rate mind at work.

BOOM! You can’t figure out how in the world Daredevil is using Matt Murdoch’s cane and Doom is dropping knowledge bombs on your ass. Whose is the superior intellect, Richards?!?! What will Doom do with this knowledge? He decides to toy with them. He wants it to last “as long as possible.” I think when Doom masturbates he chokes himself while looking at a picture of Reed. And maybe Sue. And maybe Thing. Not Johnny, though.

Doom fires Reed’s overly simplistic missiles at the FF and Daredevil saves Reed. “Mister Fantastic” cannot for the life of him figure out if Daredevil has any super powers. Daredevil decides to distract Doom while Reed figures something out. I have not seen any other members of the FF in about three pages and I don’t miss them. Let Reed just have the book at this point.

The issue ends with all five heroes desperately trying to reach the Baxter Building and defeat Doom. Here’s a spoiler: No way they win this time. They are powerless. Daredevil can’t even see! Doom has the entire arsenal of the Baxter Building! Victory will be Doom’s! No way the FF escape from this. What a humiliation if Doom blows this.

Next: The humiliation of Doom.

As usual, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below. You can also send your comments to thenonicheblog@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at John_S20. If you really want to stalk me, you can find me posting fairly regularly at Herochat.com, known for its mature and frank discussions about comicbooks.

When last we left our hero, Doom was lost in sppppaaaaccceeeee after the treacherous Thing pushed him out a hole in the floor. Go back and read it and you’ll understand.

Our story opens with the Fantastic Four in the Fantasti-car experiencing engine trouble. I hope they make it. I do not want the cruel hand of fate robbing Doom of the pleasure of ending their miserable lives. It’s Johnny’s fault, of course, and with Thing doing the piloting, there is the real chance his suicidal tendencies get the best of him and that this will be the end of the team.

Fortunately, they are able to make an emergency landing in the street, but not without causing a bit of property damage as Thing rear ends an old man’s car. This innocent citizen is rightly upset. His whole fender has fallen off! Thing decides that he can repair the car in a snap.

Er, make that fix it with a kerplunk! Stick to being the team litter box, Thing. You’re worthless. In a strange twist, though, an art dealer happens by and buys the car from the irate old man on the spot and then asks Thing to smash it up. Since smashing things mindlessly is pretty much the highest function his malformed brain allows, Thing happily obliges.

That guy was a little too in to watching Thing smash that car. Yeah, that’s it. Another hundred if you smash it up real good. Yeah. Oh yeah. Now lick it. By the time this bizarre fetish scene is over, “Mr. Fantastic,” a name that will always have quotes because who the hell does Reed think he is, anyway? fixes the malfunctioning Fantasti-car.

With this tomfoolery over, we switch to the star of the show. Doom is in space and about to run out of air! He is on a collision course with Jupiter to boot, but luckily, some weird space egg comes around and uses a tractor beam to pull Doom to safety.

This scene cracks me up. Doom is unmoving, casually plotting, instead of freaking out. I’ll make whoever is in this crazy egg serve me! The three panels of him just getting slowly lowered while he rants to himself is high comedy.

And we are now in an episode of Star Trek because who is piloting this highly advanced space egg?

Doom says his name is not important and then demands to be called Doctor Doom, which is his name sans the Victor von. Alright. Doom bellyaches about the FF…I mean promises retribution for their incessant meddling! Rama-tut reveals that he, too, was defeated by the FF (in FF#19). You can also see right away that he is going to be a pain in the ass because he is from the 25th century and used a time machine invented by his ancestor Dr. Doom to travel back in time and commit crimes. Ambitious guy, using 25th century tech to rule a culture that had not invented iron. When Doom hears this heap of convoluted shit, the logic of his steel-trap mind kicks in…

What the fuck? Doom makes an amazing leap of logic and decides that there is a good chance they are the same person. There is no chance, Victor, especially not on the flimsy evidence of your “ancestor” using your time machine. At my next family reunion, I am going to tell my cousin who drove my car once that it’s possible we are the same person. I also like how they go all Parent Trap at the end and speak at the exact same time. This is terrible, Stan Lee.

By the way, the question of how they can exist together is never answered. Here’s a hint: you’re not the same fucking person. Space Pharaoh suggests a team up to destroy the Fantastic Four, but Doom declines. Too dangerous. If the FF kill one of them, they would both die if it turns out they are the same person. Stop it, Victor. Just fucking stop it. Geez. Rama-tut states that he has heard Reed Richards is smarter than both he and Doom. As if we needed any more evidence they are not the same person. Doom swears he will put an end to that dirty lie once and for all. Doom grabs a little rocket, waves good-bye to Space Pharaoh and his magnificent space egg, and zooms back to Earth.

We end this pointless scene (they are not the same person. Fuck you, Stan Lee, for trying to make us think they are with that absurd shit) and swing back towards the FF. Sue sees a beautiful shooting star.

What a great scene. That’s a man-made object coming back to Earth, woman, not a meteor. And speaking of objects coming back to Earth, I have a feeling Doom might come back. But that’s a mystery I’ll never solve, I guess. Back to looking at my microfiche of the Earth.

The capsule lands right in the middle of New York City and Doom heads to the Latverian embassy, where Ambassador Gorzenko is giving an interview.

Talk about awkward. I meant some other mysterious, masked, unknown tyrant, Herr Doktor! Jokes. He is rightly shitting his pants, but Doom has orders for him. We don’t know what they are, but I bet it is a foolproof plan to finally rid the world of the accursed Reed Richards and his band of sycophants.

Back with the team, Reed is testing a new superglue he invented for NASA. He makes Thing test it by pulling bricks apart. Finally, Thing is useful! Sue saves us all by entering with big news. They’ve been invited to a party! Where is this gala going to be held?

That’s right, bitches. The Latverian Embassy. Look at the decor. Look at the fine spread. The Latverian Embassy is for people who want to be seen. Strange, though, where is the Prime Minister. Geography fail, Richards! So smart. Can’t even name the real ruler of Latveria. I’m cackling, right now. This is your doom, Richards! They are all given special Latverian berry drinks and all of them drink except Reed. Of course. It turns out this juice allows Doom to basically plant suggestions in their mind and they each see exactly what Doom wants them to see. Torch sees Thing cockblock him with a Latverian countess. It’s not funny enough to show. Torch gets mad because he knows he’ll die a virgin, and they fight.

We then turn to Sue and what does she see?

Oh, that’s rich. The best part is that as we move further along into FF history, this characterization isn’t far off. You’re a dick, Reed. Although I admit “Go haunt a house or something!” made me chuckle. Point for you, Richards. The team, manipulated by Doom, then begins to fight amongst themselves. So this is a typical issue of the Fantastic Four is what you’re telling me.

Remember when I said Ghost Dickhead Reed was hard to distinguish from real Reed and later on you’d see it? Well, I didn’t mean years or issues, I mean a page later.

Maybe you should go to Namor, Sue. Or maybe you need to steer clear of all men for a while. You’re really lowering your standards. While they fight, Doom watches. This all going according to plan. Unfortunately, Emo-Doom rears his ugly head again.

God damn it, Emo-Doom. Stay buried where you belong! And what did I tell you about surrounding yourself with mirrors, Victor! The FF hear the shot and come into the room. Doom is not prepared! No matter! Victory is assured! There is a quick skirmish and Sue pushes Victor out the window with a force field. Doom uses it as an opportunity to escape. Sue doesn’t understand any of this. Here, let Reed explain:

Reed is in rare form today. Not a fool, Sue! Merely a female who acts on emotions without thinking things through! Now that I am saying this out loud, yes, you are a fool. All women are fools. You’re such an asshole, Reed. Reed and Sue go and break up the fight between the toddlers and the team is all on the same page again. They must stop Doom! Reed tells Sue that she can’t come, it’s too dangerous. Geez, Reed, can it with the patriarchal attitude. It’s 1964! Johnny and Ben say Sue can handle themselves and I agree. Certainly better than those 2 dipshits. With that settled, the team heads back to HQ. And Doom is there waiting to strike! Aw, man, this is it!

Thing, being an ignoramus, charges Doom.

Surprise, surprise, you grotesque gargoyle. You’re even more worthless than usual. Doom’s force field is unbeatable. Fuck you, Unus! Unfortunately, Reed has a device that can break any force field, but it requires Johnny’s Nova Flame. Johnny takes the device and flies high into the sky. But silly Reed forgot to tell Johnny to let go of the device immediately or else! Torch doesn’t let go in time and after triggering the machine, he plummets to Earth. Reed saves him, but he burns his widdle hands. The forcefield is down, though, so Thing steps up to the plate again. Is it Clobberin’ Time?!?!

Of course not. Doom crushes the walking outhouse with no effort. Fuck you, Thing. Next up is Sue. She displays yet another new power and turns Doom invisible. Jesus, she has a new power every week. They scrap, but Doom gets the upper hand. Finally, Reed steps in. This is between Reed and Doom. All you others, step aside. Yes, Richards. Yes. This is your last mistake.

Reed’s a good sport, though. Facing his imminent demise with dignity. I’ll drink to your death as well, Richards!

Now that the formalities are out of the way, what will be the weapon of choice? Swords? Pistols? Halberds? Nope. It’s the dreaded “Encephalo-gun.” Two people put their foreheads on it and try to outthink the other person. I shit you not. This is the most literal way Doom and Reed could ever face off. Strap yourselves in for this wild ride of two people staring at each other. They lock eyes and the duel begins…

YEEEEEESSSSSSS!! Eat a dick, Richards! Ultimate victory is Doom’s! HAHA. It feels so good. Honestly, I knew it was coming. I never gave up hope. This is so satisfying. A true Lee and Kirby masterpiece. I need to see how much an original copy of this issue is going for on eBay. It’s priceless, I bet. With trembling hand, I turn the page. I am giddy thinking about how Doom will kill Johnny and Ben and take Sue as his own. Long nights in the castle, in front of the fire, writhing bodies. Let’s move on. Let’s watch Doom…

Such a gracious winner, although screeching “You saw it! You all saw it!” is a little much. Act like you’ve been here before, Victor. Doom walks off triumphant, with the Fantastic Four shattered. Only 5 panels to go in the most perfect comicbook ever written. Let’s end this in style and put all of them here for us to enjoy.

…

…

No. That’s impossible. That can’t be true. What the fuck?!?!? NOOOOOOO. Accursed Richards! Look at how smug he is. Look at how he believes he has somehow defeated Doom. Well, fuck you, Reed. Doom walked off victorious. You will rue the day Doom learns of this treachery, Richards! His incandescent rage will burn like a star and consume you in its fiery intensity!

Next: Doom takes a bit of a break, not returning for a full 10 months. I am sure he is living it up, celebrating his first victory over the Fantastic Four.

As usual, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below. You can also send your comments to thenonicheblog@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at John_S20. If you really want to stalk me, you can find me posting fairly regularly at Herochat.com, known for its mature and frank discussions about comicbooks.

Last time, on the Doom Retrospective, our hero defeated the Fantastic Four individually with the help of his super powered minions, only to be ultimately defeated and lost in space. Again. Now I know some of you Doomites might be wondering if I will count Doom’s victories over the Fantastic Four as wins on the scorecard. I will acknowledge that Doom has won temporary victories, but I am only going to count “wins” as those where Doom is triumphant at the end of the issue. So let’s look at the scorecard.

Times Left Adrift in Space/Shrunk into Nothingness/Jumped out of airplane sans parachute: 4

Doom next appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #2 (Sept. 1964), and to show the world how far Doom has come, Doom dominates this entire double-sized issue! Part 1 is a story befitting all great characters, heroes and villains alike, an origin tale! That is the story I’ll be covering today.

We open our tale with Doom sitting on a throne?!?! Well, this is new.

Look at that monogrammed throne. This is a historic moment, people. Doom’s servant, Boris, takes his master out in the countryside for some sort of visitation. But where are we?

Aw, yeah. Latveria. Jewel of the Alps! Highly rated tourist destination! Doctor Doom is officially king of his own damn country. It’s taken over two years since his creation, but Lee and Kirby have added the finishing touch on Doom as a character. Long live Doom! The duo stop before a tombstone and suddenly, we are thrust into a flashback. A gypsy village? What? Doom is a gypsy? Such humble beginnings! Yes, Doom began his life as the son of a gypsy doctor in the Latverian countryside, living like carnie folk, I guess. With their small hands and cheese smells. Men of the evil Baron of Latveria come to fetch Doom’s father, Werner, because the Baroness is sick. Here, little Victor learns a valuable lesson.

Yes, Boris. Being born a gypsy means you must accept being openly shit upon. Gypsy born, gypsy taken to Baron castle for impossible task, and then gypsy murdered. Such is gypsy life. Let’s click our heels around campfire now. Eat a dick, Boris. Luckily, someone we know is going to end this shit cycle soon enough. And it might just be handsome little Victor von Doom.

Dr. Doom Sr. goes to the Baron’s castle and finds the Baroness dying from an incurable condition. He is threatened with death if he cannot save her. He does his best and hightails it back to his village. He knows she is going to die and the shit is going to hit the fan. The Dooms make a run for it.

Little Vic wants to stay and fight, but his father knows better. We also discover that Mrs. Doom is dead. We will later learn it was a freak demon summoning accident that did her in. An under reported type of accident, even today. But here her death remains a mystery. As the Dooms push into the mountains, their horse bolts and they are left alone as the temperature drops and snow begins to fall. Dr. Doom Sr. wraps Victor in his own clothes to keep him warm. Boris finds them the next day and while Dr. Doom Sr. is dying, little Vic still has a chance.

Wow. Victor makes a really fast recovery and is there for the death of his father. Victor shows his chops by ranting that all mankind will pay. I wasn’t even there, Victor! Over react much? His mom also dabbled in the black arts. I’m sure Victor will never find that out, Boris. 2 panels later:

Boris, you dipshit. You hope he never finds out? Then why keep his mom’s shit right there out in the open? Ugh. So after Boris says “Gee, I hope he never finds out.” Honest-to-god, two panels later Doom is cackling like a mad man over magic potions. You’re the fucking worst, Boris.

Fast forward to Doom as a young adult. The little scamp is using his prodigious intellect to troll the Latverian upper crust.

Look at that robot! How did Doom build that in a traveling circus gypsy village? To be clear, here is where Victor grew up:

Suck it, Iron Man. Doom builds robots out of straw, sticks, and grass in a little gypsy village. Screw you and your little cave with actual weapons components. Doom is the greatest intellect! Doom continues to terrorize the country side, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor of Latveria. He is fighting a one man war against the evil Baron thanks to his unique genius. A genius that shall not go undiscovered any longer.

Yes, an American finds him. He chomps his pipe in his goofy outfit, all signs of a serious man of science, and offers Victor a scholarship in America! Prestigious State University. Go college mascot! Since everyone knows America is the best, Victor immediately accepts and he is off to the USA!

Literally the first person to speak to him at the university is some obnoxious little annoyance who won’t leave Doom alone.

Richards!! For four panels he just follows Doom around bugging him. This guy. Doom should have vaporized him on the spot. After Doom rebuffs Richards arguably sexual advances, Reed ends up rooming with football star Ben Grimm. A deserving punishment. Doom throws himself into his studies. And some involve a little more than just science.

Nice, evil looking cauldron, Victor. I’m sure your RA had no questions when you lugged that into your room. Richards tries to sabotage Doom’s calculations, obviously altering some decimal points in a desperate cry for attention. Go back to spooning Grimm after the sock hop, Richards! We know what happens from here. Experiment goes boom. Doom’s face is…changed. Dean Dick expels him when he is still wrapped like a damn mummy. Doom heads to Tibet, seeking the secrets of black magic and sorcery, because everyone knows you cannot trust Tibetans.

Doom eventually ascends to upper management of this sorcerous little band and they make a suit for him. They try to warn him that the mask is still hot, but Doom cannot give two shits. What is pain to Doom?!?

There it is. The birth of a legend. Much better than the birth of some other lesser villains I know.

So Doom is all Doomified now. But what will he do? Well, first he builds a jetpack and gets the hell out of Tibet. We then return to the present. Doom swears in front of the graves of his parents that he will rule the world. Because they wanted him to?!? Doom then pimp walks through the streets of Latveria back to his castle.

Look at him go. Look at the prosperity of Latveria! Look at the adoring citizens! Look at the faux German stylings which reek a little of anti-German racism. It’s all so glorious. I know what I am doing after I post this.

Next: Part 2 of the annual. Doom vs The Fantastic Four. Again. This time victory will be Doom’s! You have my word!

As usual, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below. You can also send your comments to thenonicheblog@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at John_S20. If you really want to stalk me, you can find me posting fairly regularly at Herochat.com, known for its mature and frank discussions about comicbooks.

When last we left the Doom Retrospective, victory was Doom’s! Until, like the accursed cavalry in a trite Western, the Fantasic Four arrived and saved the cretinous Spider-man from certain….doom. Always seeing the value of tactical retreat, Doom beat feet to plot and scheme another day.

It should be apparent now that you never really have to wait long to get another Doom appearance. Doom would return in Fantastic Four #23 (Feb. 1964). Doom is still not as yet two years old and is already the most important villain at Marvel! Let’s go to the scorecard.

Times Left Adrift in Space/Shrunk into Nothingness/Jumped out of airplane sans parachute: 3

The issue opens with the team mucking around with Doom’s time machine. I guess they captured it in a non-Doom issue I did not/will not read? The time machine is turned on and a dinosaur pops out of it. The dino promptly WTFpwns Torch with a houseplant.

Nice drug reference. You are telling me that a couple glasses of water is all it takes to take Torch out of a fight? Oh, Doom. If only you had known how shitty the Human Torch truly is. Eventually Sue and Reed play the grownups and subdue the dinosaur. They send the animal back and Reed gushes about how Doom’s time platform still works perfectly after they transferred it to their lab. Of course the device works, fool! Doom’s craftsmanship and attention to detail is unequaled! With the dino crisis averted, Reed chastises the team for their general incompetence.

“Alleged” minds. Somebody get the burn unit in here, Reed is flamethrowing. Of course, the team doesn’t like their superior speaking down to them and decide it’s time for a new leader. These ingrates don’t realize that Reed, while mentally deficient, is a genius compared to the rest of this crew. Doom’s new strategy should revolve around framing Johnny for putting his fingers in the peanut butter or Thing leaving a deuce in the toilet without flushing. The team would practically combust before our very eyes.

We leave the FF slapfight and find a creepy bald guy is chilling in the courthouse checking out criminals. Eventually, he bails one out and takes him to a secret lair. Who is this creepy guy? A Doombot! Doom has gathered three criminals together for some nefarious purpose. Doom is so evil, he already has these poor saps violating their parole.

Nice introductions, Doom. He reveals himself and the criminals rightly shit themselves. Fear Doom! These nobodies will allow Doom to defeat the Fantastic Four. Do not ask how! Trust in Doom!

We return to the Fantastic Four and they are voting for a new leader. The three do it without Reed because fuck that stuffed shirt. When the three of them have maybe 12 brain cells to rub together, the vote leads to predictable results.

You can almost hear the sad trombone in the background as Thing’s grotesque black heart breaks in his misbegotten chest from disappointment. As if anyone would vote for you, gargoyle. Thing and Torch throw tantrums and fight, tearing up the room. Torch uses impressive weapons like a “cold flame fly swatter” and “lukewarm” fireballs. Jesus, Johnny. You’re the worst. It’s obvious everyone wants to get rid of Thing, but Reed can’t poison him correctly and Johnny is too stupid to make his fire, you know, actually hot. Reed hears the ruckus and saunters in.

Reed tapping his inner Doom. Look at that dickish body language. This trio would be drooling all over themselves if Reed weren’t around. Look at how selfish they are! While they roll around in excrement like toddlers, Reed is trying and failing to track his superior. But where is Doom?

He’s creating an anti-Fantastic Four, that’s what he’s doing. Doom just rolls up and creates new supervillains for himself. I’m sure this is going to work out great with super-hearing guy, fireproof guy, and not as-strong-as-Thing guy. There is no way this plan can fail! Need I remind you of one of our good Doctor’s fatal flaws?

Time will tell if Doom can lead these three stooges to success. The next day, there is an announcement in the newspaper that a “Maharajah” wants to present Johnny with a new car. The Torch is a selfish dolt, so he decides to go by himself and not tell the rest of the team. And why not? Reed is busy with his experiments. Sue is practicing improving her superpowers. And what of Thing?

He’s getting trolled by the Yancy Street Gang. I love those guys. Who needs the internet when you can just fill up Thing’s mailbox with insulting harassing letters? Anyone who can hurt that malformed mockery of humanity is ok in my book. Fuck you, Thing. Johnny is given the car and takes it for a spin. Fireproof guy suggests they go visit the maharajah in person and Johnny agrees. What a car, by the way. Amazingly advanced. Johnny is suitably impressed.

Torch, you sniveling sycophant! Even when Doom is not present, you insult him with your shallow idol worship of Richards. I am looking forward to Torch being humiliated and destroyed. The charade is dropped and Torch is told he is now a prisoner. Johnny tries to burn his way out of the locked car, but it is lined with asbestos! The bane of Silver Age fiery superheroes. He then tries to fill the car with fire to force Fireproof guy to open the doors. Long story short, Johnny is knocked out and captured. Excellent.

Next we see Thing stalking the streets, looking for the Yancy Street Gang. In a twist, it was actually Not-as-Strong-as-Thing guy who wrote it! They tussle, and then NASAT Guy pulls out a gun.

Ha Ha! Richards can never properly cure Thing and here Doom does it with a Cosmic Ray gun of his own devising.* Truly, your genius knows no bounds, Doom. Thing is promptly KO’d. Two down!

We see Reed and Sue back home. And I’m just going to put the whole page here. I can’t accurately describe it.

There has never been a more 60’s page written. It is the most 60’s page that ever sixtied. Look at Sue moping, though, the little vixen. I’d let her polish my test tube. Super-hearing guy shows up at the door with flowers. Sue, thinking with her vagina, decides this is the perfect time to make Reed jealous. Of course, it is a trap. Of course, Sue is also knocked out. Three down! Only one left. The accursed Richards.

Look at that cackle. All Doom wanted was a fair fight. How is 4-on-1 fair? Your reckoning is at hand, Richards. This is great. The actual confrontation, however, is anti-climactic. Reed sees the Thing shoot the emergency flare and rushes off to help. Then Thing turns on Reed and “Mr. Fantastic” is trapped. Oh ho! So simple.

Yes, Richards. You forgot that Doom is a master “robot designer.” All four down. Doom has done it. Doom has defeated the entire Fantastic Four! The first thing Doom does is destroy the Thing robot. I think maybe you could have used that later, Victor, not that I am questioning you.

But you make a good point, Doom. As always. Somebody get an icepack in here for Thing’s burns. With the team defeated, nothing left to do but pay off the hired help.

Have you ever seen a more pimp super-villain before? Look at Doom lounging. He’s got this shit completely under control. He inverted our expectations. They didn’t even get the chance to incompetently betray him. He shunted their asses to some unnamed dimension. Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four escape. But Doom has prepared for that, of course. I think Doom just likes to up the difficulty for himself. He captures them but instead of just killing them, he allows them to escape just so he can beat them again. He’s addicted to the thrill.

He hits Thing with some sort of hammering machine. Freezes Mr. Fantastic. Reed-cicle anyone? That’s my joke, not Doom’s. Though I wish Doom had said it. After bossing them around earlier, Reed is getting a lesson in humility. He feels like he’d be dead if not for his team. So true. Doom wants you to be a better hero, Reed. Even with the four of them now free, Doom is still holding his own, flying around the room, bringing the fight to the Fantastic Four!

He is smarter and more powerful than Reed, dullard! Look at Doom go. He looks like he is just having a ball. Doom reminds me of some other awesome villain I know.

That’s the stuff.

All of this is just prelude to Doom’s real trap. He is going to use a “solar wave” to throw the Fantastic Four into space. Don’t ask. It doesn’t make sense. I am beginning to think Doom has some sort of space death fetish. Sue uses her power in a new way and projects a field through a wall, trapping Doom himself! If the FF die, Doom dies with them. We cannot let that happen!

“Space is closing in on us!” I’m not sure that’s how space works, Johnny. “I’m surrounded by air, Reed. Halp!” Idiot. Of course, Doom must save himself since his mind is worth more than the entirety of the Fantastic Four. Thing pulls Doom into the room and….

Are you fucking kidding me? Lost in spaaaaaccccceeee again?!?! Fuck you, Thing, you hideous misshapen excrescence. Doom will have his revenge! Of course, the Fantastic Four just narrowly escape death. Doom will return. Somehow, some way.

Next: Fantastic Four annual #2, a double sized issue. The first story is the origin of Victor von Doom! If that is not an erection causing story, I don’t know comics. I’ll be covering each story in a different entry.

*Doom’s Cosmic Ray gun only “cured” Thing for a few moments. But what does Doom care? Doom would never cure Thing permanently. Let the creature suffer.

As usual, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below. You can also send your comments to thenonicheblog@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at John_S20. If you really want to stalk me, you can find me posting fairly regularly at Herochat.com, known for its mature and frank discussions about comicbooks.

Last time, on the Doom Retrospective, our hero came tantalizing close to victory but ended up jumping out of a plane instead. Sigh. At this point, Lee and Kirby knew they had really hit a home run with Doom. Since his first appearance in issue 5, he showed up 5 times in 13 issues. He is practically a co-star of the book at this point. But, like all great characters, it was obvious that Doom was outgrowing the podunk Fantastic Four and needed to spread his wings and fly. Let’s check the scorecard.

Times Left Adrift in Space/Shrunk into Nothingness/Jumped out of airplane sans parachute: 3 (A recurring theme. Might have to rename this section.)

So after his impromptu skydiving in FF #17 (Aug. 1963), Doom pops up again in Amazing Spider-Man #5 (Oct. 1963). 6 appearances in 19 months. Considering Marvel had only a handful of books every month, Doom is making more appearances than Wolverine. Doom scoffs at Snikt, bub.

Is everyone ready to watch Doom destroy a teenager and finally break into the win column? I know I am. Already, I am thrown off because the art of Steve Ditko is way different than Jack Kirby. It’s like an alternate dimension in this book.

Our tale opens with J. Jonah Jameson announcing a new program that will reward anyone who can expose Spider-man to the public as the menace he is! I can already see where this is going. Peter, in a clumsy attempt to fit in, talks shit about Spider-man.

Look at Flash Thompson, number one Spidey fan. Keep that pantywaist in line, Flash. On the next page, Doom stands in all his glory. He will team up with Spider-Man to destroy the Fantastic Four. The perfect plan. It seems every other issue of Amazing back then was some villain tricked into thinking Spider-Man was a villain or a hero believing the hype and attacking him. Poor Peter Parker. The question is, how can Doom contact the Amazing Spider-man? Easy. Science!

Eat your heart out, Richards. You have failed inventions like your “human being in armor” radar, which isn’t even a thing, and Doom has his spider communicator! And it works. Somehow, Spider-man hears the message through his spider-sense and follows it to Doom’s lair. Don’t question Doom’s science! Only bask in the results of success!

Doom makes Spider-man an offer he can’t refuse. And Spider-man refuses. Accursed arachnid! Your fate will be too terrible to comprehend! Not only does Spider-man refuse Doom’s more-than-generous offer, he attempts to web Doom up like some ordinary bank robber.

As if Doom would allow your goopy secretions to touch his person, fool! Oh, man. That was your first and last mistake, Spider-man. Doom is going to open up a can of whoopass. They have a very quick little tussle with Doom throwing Spider-man around and Spidey dodging a trap and a finger blast (teehee) and then going through a window to escape. Spider-man ran!

VICTORY IS DOOM’S!

Doom is not concerned that Spider-man escaped. He will merely deduce the accursed arachnid’s identity and then use him as bait to destroy the Fantastic Four. Simple. Elegant. Oh so easy, since Spider-Man ran for his life after only a few panels. We cut back to see Spider-man coming back into Doom’s warehouse in a foolish attempt to ambush Doom. Pathetic insect, Doom is always a step ahead.

Doom walks off, pimp-like. So suave. So confident. Look at that cape flapping around. Compare this to Spider-man. Snapping pictures because he has to pay rent. Doom fears no rent! And to top it off, Spider-man will almost assuredly be blamed for this explosion. Everything is coming up Doom.

The next day, Parker is groveling for a paycheck and the magnanimous J. Jonah buys his pictures, ensuring Aunt May can get her hemorrhoid cream or whatever. Peter protests that Jameson may pick on Spider-man a little too much.

Oh, Peter you teenaged dick. Jumping on the first girl who says anything nice about you at all. “Gee, Betty, I thought you looked like a dog’s ass before, but you just said something nice about me. Will you marry me, you obvious 10?” Plus, Ditko’s art makes Betty look like she’s 55. Up your game, Parker.

Next we go to Flash Thompson, who has hatched a foolproof scheme.

Oh, Flash, you prankster. Parker will surely poop himself. There must be a price to pay for badmouthing Spider-man, after all. Besides, parading around as a superhero/public menace can’t possibly have any bad consequences for you, Flash. Keep doing you.

So, now, as you could probably guess, hijinx are about to ensue in the Mighty Marvel Manner. Let’s break it down.

First: Doom creates a device that will react to the presence of Spider-man. Don’t ask. Doom created it, so it will work.

Second: Peter is innocently walking along and Flash, in full Spidey getup, is waiting to ambush him.

Third: Doom’s device registers the presence of Spider-Man.

And then….

Doom’s gas takes Flash down silently. Fart Joke. I’m a little miffed that Doom is now finding himself in an episode of Three’s Company. Doom, supremely confident and surprised by how easily Spider-man was captured, takes poor Flash to his lair. Peter returns home to find Aunt May watching her shows. The broadcast is then interrupted by Dr. Doom!

Doom is really banking on the Fantastic Four giving two shits about Spider-man. I guess they are worthless heroes and rescuing randos is what they do. Doom might as well have captured a puppy. The results would probably be the same. At that moment, Peter receives a phone call from Liz telling him that Flash was dressed up as Spider-man to play a prank on…someone and is now missing. I guess she didn’t see the broadcast. The real question is: Why call Peter? Hey, let’s call the weakest nerdiest kid in school and see what he thinks about it? I can only imagine that they think Peter snapped and killed Flash. One prank too far, Flash. One prank too far.

Well, Peter can’t just let Flash die, can he? No! He sets off to stage a dramatic rescue. There is just one problem.

Foiled by Aunt May! Peter is not allowed to leave the house. This is amazing. Aunt May is almost as effective a villain as Doom himself. And certainly more effective than say, the Trapster. But Peter will not be denied. He risks Aunt May breaking her hip in the dark to save Flash! He legit leaves her alone in the dark house for the rest of the issue.

Spider-man searches the city for Doom, and his spider-sense buzzes when he gets to the building Doom is hiding out in. Doom’s menace is so great, he could just be sitting on a couch inside, and the spider-sense would go off. Hail Doom! Meanwhile, Flash is not doing Spider-man’s reputation any favors.

Man up and face death with dignity, Flash. Die a hero of Midtown High! Spider-man sneaks into the building through a vent, because Doom would obviously never suspect that and confronts a shocked Doom. Two Spider-men??

They fight and 1960’s Spider-man is basically a Green Lantern. He makes columns, shields, bolas, and balls out of his webbing. Somehow. Finally, Doom gets the upper hand.

Come on, Victor! Namor got you with electricity back in FF#6. Improve your suit, for pete’s sake. Cripes. I am getting that sinking feeling again. But wait! A Doombot grabs Spidey from behind. It’s 2-on-1. Now, I’m getting that familiar tingly feeling. Fuck you, sinking feeling! While the Doombot holds Parker helpless, Doom turns on a disintegrator ray. How long did it take Doom to pimp out this warehouse? I’ve counted five separate traps now – fire from the floor, ice from the ceiling, electrified floor, some sort of weird spinning iron ball contraption, and now this disintegrator ray. Spidey decides that his only chance is to make a dash for the panel controls. Doom decides to take matters into his own luxuriously gauntleted hands.

Doom’s strength of limb is equaled only by his strength of mind, cretin! Never mind that Doom built in an immunity to his death ray but not electricity. Look at that last panel. One little nudge and that accursed arachnid will be gone forever! My whole body is tense with anticipation.

Spider-man, in a desperate effort, rolls the pair into the wall containing the control panel, stopping the ray, but Doom still has the upper hand. Using a flashbang, he blinds Spidey and tries to pummel him. Curse that uncanny spider-sense! Doom cannot lay a finger on the cretin. But Doom still has tricks. The iron balls make a re-appearance and Spider-man loses his balance. Doom stands over him. Ready for the killing blow. This is it, Doomites. The moment we’ve all been waiting for.

God damn it. Of course, the accursed Fantastic Four show up at the most inopportune time. Curse you, Richards! Victory was Doom’s! The stupid Fantastic Four arrive and Spider-men takes off, leaving Flash in their capable hands. Peter scurries home to make sure Aunt May didn’t kill herself in the dark. And of course, she’s fine. That old bat has nine lives. The next day, the hits keep coming for Peter. He forgot to take pictures of the fight and Jameson is upset! And then at school….

You will rue the day you slandered Doom, Flash Thompson. Doom’s wrath will be swift and severe. Do not think your “BMOC” status at Midtown High intimidates Doom. Doom dares all! Doom will confront you in that nest of vipers that is high school. Soon, Flash Thompson.

Doom had Spider-man on the ropes. Parker was clearly out of his weight class. It’s only going to get bigger and better from here. I can feel it. I can tell you right now, no way Doom gets lost in the void of space again.

Next: Doom ends up lost in the void of space.

As usual, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below. You can also send your comments to thenonicheblog@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at John_S20. If you really want to stalk me, you can find me posting fairly regularly at Herochat.com, known for its mature and frank discussions about comicbooks.

Last time, on the Doom Retrospective, Victor captured the FF in his micro-world but good fortune did not smile on him and they escaped. Doom is still stuck in his schlocky 60’s days, but it gets better Doomites, I promise. At the end of the issue, Doom escapes, as usual, into the real world with the Fantastic Four hot in pursuit! We pick up our story in Fantastic Four #17 (Aug. 1963). But, first, the scorecard:

Our tale begins with the team saying good-bye to Ant-Man, with Sue once again gushing about how cute someone other than Reed is. Keep it in your pants, Sue. Although I do agree that you can do better than Richards. We next get a recap of last issue and their daring escape attempt.

Johnny basically throws up in his mouth just thinking about Thing’s face, which is a reasonable reaction. The team is stumped because they don’t know where Doom could have run off to. The city is so big! Leave it to Reed, though, to science his way past this little problem.

A radar that detects human flesh wrapped in steel? How does that radar work? He might as well have said “I have developed a radar to detect gypsy men named Victor with superiority complexes.” Boop. Boop. Boop. “Got ’em!” Give me a fucking break, 1960’s pseudo-science. It’s not even pseudo-science. The rest of the team, knowing that Reed’s pimped out stationary bike couldn’t possibly work, wisely fan out and start their own searches.

Torch babbles something about heat waves and quickly gives up, probably to chase a ball of string down a hallway or something. Thing sees Doom standing on the street in broad daylight! What luck!

He springs into action, even getting compliments from mentally handicapped people who think he has gone so far into the ugliness spectrum that he has come back around to the beauty spectrum. Fat chance, mentally challenged citizens. Of course, since Thing is only marginally smarter than Torch, it turns out to be a knight advertising an eatery. You’re such an idiot, Thing. Doom would never idly chit chat with the riff-raff in the middle of your fetid city! Invisible Girl similarly strikes out.

The team meets back up and wallows in their collective failure. Reed claims Doom is too smart to leave clues that can be tracked. But what about your human flesh in steel radar, Reed? Doom must have removed his armor and then his flesh to avoid your fiendish device. He truly is the smartest man alive. Faced with their own shortcomings, the team decides to just forget about Doom for a while and go on with their busy social lives. Seems like the responsible thing to do.

Unfortunately, the lobby of their building is filled with adulating fans and they can’t get out without attracting attention. Luckily, a janitor takes them aside and allows them to leave the building via the service elevator.

Oh ho! Suck it, Batman. Matches Malone is like a little kid’s Halloween outfit next to this masterpiece! Who is the real master of disguise? The only question I have is whether Doom removed his helmet and somehow covered up his hideous face or did he slap a latex mask on top of his armor? Either way, it worked. Haha. What diabolical trap have these witless morons fallen into?

Doom returns to his hidden lab and releases his newest invention, lighter-than-air robots, to track down each member of the team via the device implanted on their hands. Of course, Sue’s has polka dots because it’s the 1960’s and she’s a woman. Come on, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Get your shit together. The four return to base with their robot stalkers in tow and Reed figures out that they have discs planted on them and the followers fade away. Obviously, this is what Doom planned.

Wait, what? You can monitor their every movement and went to the trouble of disguising yourself to plant something on them and this is the payoff? Doom watched them like a creep on his little TV, chuckling about how he embarrassed them. Come on, Victor. You could have had those discs explode. Or maybe the robots explode or shoot acid all over their smug faces. What a missed opportunity. But now that his creepy little game is over, Doom is really going to get serious.

Ah, so Doom is going to attack their loved ones. Serves you right for not having a secret identity, Fantastic Four. We are then treated to a little emo Doom (first canonical appearance of Emo-Doom!), where he wonders how a grotesque mockery of life like Thing can have a girlfriend and he is stuck in his lab creeping on people through TV monitors. It’s your towering intellect, Victor. It’s not you, it’s us. We are all intimidated. Though, you might want to not have mirrors around you all the time.

With a push of a button, Doom uses a “grappler” ray (suck it, Magneto) and kidnaps Alicia by bringing her aboard his airship. It’s amazing that Doom can easily capture her with a push of a button and yet still cannot defeat Richards and his band of cretins. Maybe you should have used the floating robot on Alicia and used the grappler to fling Reed into space. Just a thought.

Doom sends a message to the team stating he can cause havoc in the city and if they try to stop him, Alicia gets it. He warns the FF to steer clear of him or else. Reed is ready to go off and pound Doom but Thing punches him. No way is he going to do anything to get Alicia hurt! The team is fighting amongst themselves. Doom’s hour of triumph is at hand! I’m tingly. With the team ineffective and out of the way, what will Doom do? Demand world leaders submit to him? Ask for unmatched wealth?

Come on, Victor. Think bigger. UGH. Doom gets the FF out of the way so he can be Secretary of the Interior or some shit? Are we sure this isn’t a Doombot run amok thinking he is the real Victor von Doom? We go to President Kennedy in the oval office. We never see his face, which is weird, but ok. Kennedy and his advisors talk and Kennedy makes the decision to tell Doom to get bent. Oh, you will rue this day, Mr. President. Doom’s anger will be incandescent. His revenge will be swift.

Oh, yes. That’s the stuff. Doom acts quickly. The entire country is brought to its knees. Do you regret what you have done, Mr. President? Have you not seen the full fury of Doom? Has it not left you trembling? Even the Soviets are petrified of Doom’s power. The government, with nowhere left to turn, approach the Fantastic Four, who seemingly have been sitting morosely on a couch this entire time. Reed says he has a secret plan. Sure, he does. Victory will be Doom’s! Finally, Doom’s!

Reed has located Doom’s airship, but the defenses are impossible to bypass. Why you ask?

Oh, Doomsy, you diabolical genius! I knew those robots you made were more than just a creepy way to amuse yourself. Why didn’t you tell us? I should have never doubted you. Never again.

Reed gets to work on temporarily curing Thing, as if this plan has any chance of succeeding. Reed does manage to turn Thing back into Ben Grimm and strangely, his looks don’t improve. I mean, look at that mug.

Reed puts Ben Grimm into a little bubble and shoots him off to Doom’s airship. Ben is about to change back into the Thing but wills himself to stay human for a second longer and he breaches the airship! There is a sinking feeling in my stomach. Thing disables the disintegrator ray and the rest of the team boards the ship. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Doom does call his airship his “Sanctum Sanctorum,” though. Dr. Strange is a month old at this point. Suck it, Dr. Strange. There is only room for one Doctor with a highly improbable and descriptive last name in this feature. Hit the bricks.

The Four fan out to search the ship for Doom’s lair. But Doom expects all! Doom prepares all! Torch, Reed, and Thing all fall into traps and fight for their very lives to escape them! But they somehow manage it. But Doom will not be deterred. He has traps upon traps waiting for this hapless band.

And then….

Yes! Finally. Three of the Fantastic Four shunted off into another dimension! Victory is Doom’s! Suck it, Fantastic Four! Suck it, heroes of the world! There is a new sheriff in town. It took 5 appearances, but it finally happened. It feels good. I hope they change the title to “Doctor Doom” next issue, so I can start reviewing Doom’s solo title. But, wait. What’s this? Do you hear that rumbling?

There is an explosion and Thing comes bursting through the wall. How? Why?

Oh, screw you, Torch. That’s impossible. Damn it. Well, no matter, because Doom still has beautiful deranged Alicia Masters as his prisoner. You have no leverage, cretins! The day still belongs to Doom! Hey, where is Invisible Girl while all this is going on?

Of fucking course. So Sue hides Alicia and fights Doom when he enters. Bah! Doom only needs one hostage and one helpless 1960’s female is as good as any other. They fight for a full page. But Doom’s victory is inevitable. He is in full armor, after all. And she is a waif of a woman. Doom finally gets his hands on her.

I’ll be the first to admit this is not going well. Doom decides to stop fucking around and takes out an “ultra-heat beam” and is just going to sweep the room with it, killing Sue whether he can see her or not. As he is about to pull the trigger, the other three goons bust into the room. So, what is left for Doom to do?

He jumps out of his airship (sans parachute) to avoid capture, of course! Still uncaptured, baby! I honestly thought this was Doom’s time. So close. I think he’s making progress, though. The Fantastic Four’s days are numbered, although I admit I haven’t felt this bummed since Namor prevented Doom from pushing a button. But at least our boy remains free to plot and scheme another day.

Next: Doom decides to go down a weight class and fights Spider-Man! Doom’s first crossover! I’m sure a swift victory over a teenager will buoy his confidence.

As usual, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below. You can also send your comments to thenonicheblog@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at John_S20. If you really want to stalk me, you can find me posting fairly regularly at Herochat.com, known for its mature and frank discussions about comicbooks.